Bayside Wishes

by Stacy Claflin

  "Maybe it's all for the best."

  Nico saw red. He pulled over to the curb. "Get out."

  "What?"

  "The motel is three blocks away."

  "But my bags."

  "Take them with you."

  "Nico—"

  "Or I can mail them to you. I don't care. Just get out of my sight."

  Morgan huffed, got out, pulled her luggage from the backseat, and slammed the door. She glared at him through the window.

  Nico pulled away from the curb, making sure to squeal the tires again. He was so furious, he didn't know where to go. There was no way he could focus at work. He didn't dare try to find Freya, not while he was in this state of mind. If he went home, he would only pace. Or maybe punch a wall or two. Then he'd have more problems.

  There was a gym at the station, but that was the last place he wanted to go. Everyone would tease him about Morgan, and again, he couldn't risk the chance that he would hit something—or someone.

  He found himself near the beach. Maybe a run would help. It was still chilly by the water, but at least it was sunny and the snow had melted long ago. He would just need to change out of the stiff jeans he was wearing.

  Nico pulled into the parking lot and got his gym bag out of the trunk. He changed into sweats in the bathroom and returned the bag to his car. He locked it and took a deep breath, staring at the bay. It was a beautiful sight, and unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who thought so. Several other cars were parked nearby.

  He stretched his legs and jogged to the water. Ducks floated, quacking at each other. Some seagulls flew overhead, chasing each other. A group of kids built a sand castle near the playground.

  Nico tried to absorb the peacefulness, but found it difficult. Fury still churned in his chest. The thought of Morgan made him want to put his fist through something.

  He stretched his arms and neck, and started running. At least the trail was nice and long. He should tire himself out, if nothing else. Then with any luck, he'd be able to think clearly once he was done. Figure out what to say to Freya and everyone at work. Even those who hadn't seen Morgan would have heard all about her by now. He could hear them laughing at him.

  His legs moved faster. Nico ran by others on the trail, passing everyone he came across. He tried not to think about Morgan, but it was impossible. How dare she do that to him? Show up at his work dressed like that? Accuse him of things she had in the restaurant. Dine and dash? Never, not even as a kid—and his friends had double-dog dared him to do a lot of stupid things. And wanting her babies, that was laughable.

  In fact, he laughed out loud. She was the one who'd always brought it up. Even when they were in high school. The way she talked about it, it almost sounded like Morgan would have been happy to be a teen pregnancy statistic. She fantasized about babies in the same way most of their classmates dreamed about becoming rock or movie stars.

  Now that they were thirty, her internal clock was probably screaming at her. And for whatever reason, she'd always seen Nico as the ideal partner. No matter how many times they'd done the on-again, off-again game, she always came back to him.

  Nico ran faster until his muscles burned. Then his lungs. It felt good, especially breathing in the fresh, bay air.

  He spun around and ran back toward the parking lot, slowing down to a jog. At least Morgan was gone now. He'd made himself more than clear, and he had every intention to file a restraining order if he had to. But he was sure he wouldn't have to take it that far. Just the threat would be enough to keep her away.

  When he reached his car, he leaned against it, catching his breath. The run had been a good idea. He was in a better mindset to figure out how to handle all the damage control.

  He wiped some sweat from his forehead and tried to figure out which to tackle first. Freya. The hurt in her expression had torn straight to his heart. He needed to make things right with her—immediately.

  Nico pulled out his sweaty shirt and fanned it. His eyes burned from the smell. He would find Freya after a shower.

  He climbed into his car and headed to his apartment. The whole way there, he practiced what he would say to her. Nothing sounded good enough, though. Probably because there was no excuse for Morgan. He'd been stupid to think going to eat with her would accomplish anything good.

  The last thing he'd expected, though, was to see Freya. What was she doing back in Enchantment Bay? She hadn't said anything to him about coming back. But they'd also been playing phone tag for the last couple days.

  He hadn't thought much of it. Some days were like that between their busy schedules and the time difference. Their missed calls in the log and the long texting conversation to read over were at least a sign that they were thinking of each other.

  Hopefully Morgan hadn't managed to destroy everything he'd built with Freya. Surely, she'd hear him out.

  Nico pulled into his spot and called her number.

  Straight to voicemail.

  Sixteen

  Nico paced his apartment. Each time he called Freya, it went to voicemail. He'd been trying for hours. She'd been ignoring his calls for just as long. He took a deep breath. It took all of his willpower not to drive over to the motel and give Morgan a piece of his mind. But that would do no good. She'd probably be happy that he'd gone to see her, even if he was pissed out of his mind. In her sick and twisted head, she would see that as a win.

  He leaned against the wall and wrote out a text message. His thumb hovered over the send button before he deleted it. Again. He didn't want to explain it over a text. He didn't even want to ask for her to hear him out over a text message. It might be old-fashioned, but he believed some things really shouldn't be expressed that way.

  He considered calling again and actually leaving a message. That was what voicemail was for. But again, he really wanted to speak with her personally. Not over a recording.

  The phone rang, and he nearly dropped it. His pulse raced. Was she finally returning his calls?

  Shale.

  Nico's heart sank. She wasn't sending her brother to tell Nico to leave her alone, was she? Maybe all the calls were too much. He accepted the call. "Hi, Shale. Is everything okay?"

  "It's perfect. I just wanted to thank you for the referrals. I got the Lieutenant position at the Enchantment Bay Fire Department Nine."

  "That's great news. Congratulations." Nico tried to sound excited for him. If his own life wasn't in shambles, he would have been thrilled.

  "I start next week, and the best news is that I can finally start looking for my own place."

  "Can't say I blame you. Not sure how I'd handle living with my parents again."

  Shale chuckled. "Makes me feel like I'm in high school again, and I'm more than halfway to my ten-year reunion."

  "Well, congrats on that, too. Hey, have you heard from Freya recently?"

  "Freya? No. She said she's busy with something. Probably got a big name modeling gig or something. She didn't tell you about it?"

  "I've been busy myself lately. It's been hard to catch each other."

  "You're still coming to my party, right?"

  Nico's stomach tightened. Freya would be there. "Of course. When is it again?"

  "Saturday, six o'clock at Dakota's."

  "I wouldn't miss it. You've got a lot to celebrate."

  "Thanks again. See you there."

  "Bye." Nico ended the call and took a deep breath. That gave him a couple days to work things out with Freya—if he could get hold of her. If not, hopefully the party would provide him the opportunity to explain himself. It made him sick that she'd seen him with Morgan, especially dressed as she'd been.

  It had been bad enough that his coworkers had seen her. Freya was infinitely worse. What had she thought? Obviously nothing good since she wouldn't take his calls. He couldn't get her horrified expression out of his mind.

  He plopped down on the couch and scrolled through their long texting history. They'd had so many conversations over the months. A smile
tugged on his mouth as he read through them. The early ones started out slightly awkward—not too bad, but they were still getting to know each other.

  It hadn't taken them long to joke and tease each other. Then things had progressed to deeper topics, like dreams, goals, and ambitions. Freya had admitted she wanted to move back to Enchantment Bay but was worried about the kind of work available in the area. Nico talked about missing his family and friends and his frustration with not being able to find Turner's killer.

  His stomach rumbled, but he didn't feel like eating. He read through the conversation again until his eyes grew heavy. Nico knew he should either try to get hold of her or work on the case—for which he'd left all the paperwork on his desk in the shock of seeing the scantily-clad Morgan chumming it up with Henderson.

  A sharp pain shot through his head and fatigue rolled across his body. Maybe everything would be clear in the morning. After a good night's sleep, he'd know exactly what to say to everyone.

  Nico got ready for bed, stuck in his earbuds, and found his favorite meditation soundtrack on his phone. The sounds of rainfall and Tibetan singing bowls filled his ears, and relaxation settled on him as he closed his eyes. His mind wandered for a few minutes until his thoughts calmed. He focused on the sounds for a few minutes before drifting into a peaceful sleep.

  When he woke, he felt better than he had in a while. He hadn't slept that soundly in a long time.

  His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn't eaten dinner. He was in no mood to make anything. Maybe someone would bring donuts. At least half the time, someone did. Usually, it was a person sucking up for a promotion. Nico had already received his promotion, but he needed to distract everyone from yesterday's fiasco. Or at least try. He'd bring the donuts.

  Nico ran a comb through his hair and got dressed. There were two shops between home and work, but the one that would impress everyone was twenty minutes out of his way.

  When he stepped off the elevator at work, he balanced three large boxes of the most expensive donuts in the county.

  Reese walked over to him and eyed the boxes. "Vikki's Donuts, huh? Already bored with being Sergeant?" She laughed nervously and then snorted. Her face reddened.

  Nico lifted the cover from the top box, pretending not to notice. "Have one."

  Reese grabbed a pink one with a fresh strawberry on top. "Thanks, Sarge." She hurried over to her desk, telling everyone Nico had brought Vikki's Donuts.

  His subordinates and superiors alike swarmed him, swiping donuts. Nico left the remaining half-box in the lounge by the coffee machine and locked himself in his office, relieved that no one had said a word about Morgan.

  The desk was messy—just as he'd left it, but with a few new files added. He groaned. Starting the day with a messy desk annoyed him. That's why he always cleaned up before leaving. Without much effort, Morgan had managed to mess up his life on so many levels.

  Well, he wasn't going to let it get to him. He sat tall and organized all the paperwork.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  "Come in," he called. He wanted to tell them to go away.

  The handle jiggled, but the door didn't open. Right. He'd locked it.

  Sighing, Nico got up. "Hold on." He opened the door.

  Detective Wilson stood there, eating a bacon-covered maple bar. "Thanks for the donuts, Sarge. Have you thought more about sending Reese undercover?"

  Nico hadn't thought about it at all. "She's perfect for the job. Just keep an eye on her, would you?"

  "Of course. Hey, how'd your date go last night? Get lucky?"

  "She wasn't my date," Nico grumbled.

  "Morgan can date me any day of the week. Can you give her my number?" Wilson licked the bacon grease from his finger.

  Nico held back an eye roll. "Sure, but I doubt I'll hear from her again. Do we have any new leads on Turner's case?"

  Wilson shook his head. "Everything's been quiet over in drug central. Kind of worries me, you know?"

  "You think they're planning something bigger?" Nico asked.

  "Seems to be the way they work."

  "Just make sure Reese doesn't end up like Turner."

  "He wasn't undercover."

  "I know. Want me to start briefing her?"

  "Yeah. Let me know if you hear anything new."

  "Will do." Wilson turned around and headed for Reese's desk. A moment later, the sounds of her shrieks ran through the department. Clearly, she was excited about her new assignment.

  Nico left his door open and sat back down. About a half an hour passed before someone knocked again.

  Henderson leaned against the doorframe. "Have a nice time last night?"

  "No."

  "Why'd you promise to give Wilson her number? You saw how well Morgan and I were getting along."

  "You know what?" Nico snapped. "You can have her number." He pulled out his phone and texted it to Henderson. "There. Now let me focus on Turner's case." Then he blocked Morgan from his phone.

  Henderson's eyes lit up. "Really? That's her number?"

  "Yes. Have fun. Just leave me out of it."

  "And she's not a hooker?"

  Nico put his face in his palms.

  Seventeen

  Freya stared at Nico's incoming call.

  She pressed ignore. Again.

  "And this is the courtyard." Dakota and turned to Freya and smiled widely. "We have a lot of spring and summer weddings here."

  Freya didn't look up from the screen. "It's really pretty."

  "Are you okay?" Dakota asked.

  Freya shoved the phone into her purse. "Yeah, sorry."

  Dakota frowned. "Maybe you should hear Nico out."

  "I'm not ready yet. Show me the rest of the place. I really do love it so far." Freya forced a smile

  "Maybe we should do this later, when you're feeling better."

  "Honestly, I want to see it."

  Freya followed Dakota through the inside of The Chateau—an elegant, modern building that was surely every bride's dream. The large wedding hall had rows of fancy white chairs all facing the platform. Brightly colored flowers decorated the room.

  Conversation drifted their way. Dakota turned around. A group of people were headed their way, all talking excitedly.

  Dakota turned back to Freya. "Looks like today's bridal party is here a little early. I'll show you the rest later. When I get home—should be around four—we'll get everything ready for the party."

  Freya glanced around the room. "Won't you be exhausted after a wedding?"

  Her eyes lit up. "I love it. And I can't wait for the party tonight."

  "I'll see what I can get done while you're here, though."

  "Don't worry about it. Just relax. This party's going to be awesome, and I want our guest of honor to be rested." Dakota embraced Freya. "Call Nico and work it out before the party. Then you can be free to enjoy yourself."

  "We'll see."

  "Do it." Dakota turned to the group of people as they entered the room. "It's so great to see you. As you can probably tell, my staff is still getting everything set up. Let me show you to the bridal dressing room…" She guided them to another room.

  Freya was exhausted after tossing and turning all night. Even after she finally managed to fall asleep, every little noise woke her—the heater kicking on, a car starting outside, and other sounds she couldn't place.

  She climbed into Dakota's car and started the engine, grateful to her sister for letting her use the car. She really needed to get one of her own, but that would have to wait until after the party that night.

  Tears stung at her eyes. Freya pulled into the road and wiped her eyes, angry with herself for being so hurt over seeing Nico with that girl. It wasn't like they were exclusive. He had the right to see anyone he wanted. But that didn't stop the hurt. Why had she let everyone convince her that they were a couple? It was stupid. She and Nico hadn't even talked about it.

  Of course he would see other people. He was hot, had an influ
ential job, and he didn't owe her anything. Just because they'd had good conversations didn't mean she owned him.

  She was too humiliated to take his calls. Embarrassed that she'd gotten her hopes up about them being a couple. He was probably just one of those charismatic guys who made everyone feel like the most important person in the room.

  She was so stupid. How would she even look at Nico that night at the party? They'd stared at each other at Roosevelt's. He'd seen the horror and hurt written all over her face.

  Heat flushed her cheeks, just imagining what he must have thought of her.

  What if all the ignored calls were him trying to tell her to relax? To get over herself? She'd probably grown a huge head and not realized it. It came with the territory of modeling. Everyone—other than her managers—tended to act like she was the greatest thing to walk in heels. Of course Nico wouldn't feel that way.

  She pulled into Dakota's driveway and went inside. She yawned, feeling like she could sleep for a day. It was barely after eight. The wedding was at one, and Dakota said she'd be back home by four. That would only leave them a couple hours to get ready for the party.

  Freya glanced around. Not that there was much left to do. Dakota had kept her distracted the last couple days. The lower level of her house looked better than her school dances had.

  Her stomach rumbled, reminding her to eat. She grabbed an apple and ate that. She knew she should have more, but she couldn't bring herself to make anything with bread, and all Dakota had in the breakfast department were big bagels, cereal, and frozen pancakes. Freya may as well eat cake with a slice of pizza.

  Even though she didn't want to make herself sick again, habits were hard to break. Especially with all the calories Dakota had been forcing on her. She'd even gone as far as calling Freya a stick.

  Freya threw the apple core in the garbage and went upstairs to her room. She stood in front of the full-length mirror and assessed herself. She wore jeggings and a form-fitting shirt. Sure, she wasn't curvy like Dakota, but she wasn't a stick, either. She'd even put on a little weight since arriving.

  Yawning, she decided she was fine. Yeah, she still wanted to put on some more weight—enough to at least menstruate again—but she wasn't going to go crazy. When other people offered her food, she would eat just enough to keep them happy. No purging and she wouldn't starve herself later to balance out the calories and macros.